USAF Says 'Garbage in - Bombs Away'

In an almost comical incident that could have had decidedly tragic results, a USAF B-52 Stratofortress bomber accidentally dropped its load of concrete practice bombs in Kanopolis Lake near Salina, KS this past July.

Witnesses say the bomber made a low pass over the lake before returning and dropping several "bombs." What they saw were concrete dummy bombs the Air Force uses to simulate real weapons. The weight of the concrete approximates real bombs allowing the aircraft to fly as if it was actually loaded.

Still, those dummy bombs can cause damage. In fact, reports say they landed in the water dangerously close to the reservoir's dam, but apparently didn't harm the structure.

An Air Force press release says it's concluded an investigation into what happened. The crew was on a routine training mission, which included an aerial refueling and a practice bombing run at the Smoky Hill Range/Bison Military Area a few miles southwest of Salina.

The USAF says this was a case of garbage in, garbage out. The crew entered incorrect coordinates in the bombing and navigation system while programing the computers on the aircraft. The system directs the flight path of the aircraft and the bomb release point so as to hit the specified target. It's all dependent, however, on using the correct coordinates.

The release read, "The aircraft's system malfunctioned and did not release on the first pass. After checking the bomb bay compartment, the crew confirmed the weapons were still on board the aircraft. The crew made another pass and successfully jettisoned the weapons. However, the incorrect coordinates were still in the targeting system."

According to the Associated Press, the unidentified crew, assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, LA, were temporarily "grounded and underwent tightly monitored retraining and qualification processes to ensure this kind of error would not happen again."

FMI: www.af.mil